Barriers to Creating Scalable Business Models for Digital Health Innovation in Public Systems: Qualitative Case Study

BACKGROUND: Health systems are increasingly looking toward the private sector to provide digital solutions to address health care demands. Innovation in digital health is largely driven by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet these companies experience significant barriers to entry, especially in public health systems. Complex and fragmented care models, alongside a myriad of relevant stakeholders (eg, purchasers, providers, and producers of health care products), make developing value propositions for digital solutions highly challenging. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify areas for health system improvement to promote the integration of innovative digital health technologies developed by SMEs. METHODS: This paper qualitatively analyzes a series of case studies to identify health system barriers faced by SMEs developing digital health technologies in Canada and proposed solutions to encourage a more innovative ecosystem. The Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care established a consultation program for SMEs to help them increase their innovation capacity and take their ideas to market. The consultation involved the SME filling out an onboarding form and review of this information by an expert advisory committee using guided considerations, leading to a recommendation report provided to the SME. This paper reports on the characteristics of 25 SMEs who completed the program and qualitatively analyzed their recommendation reports to identify common barriers to digital health innovation. RESULTS: A total of 2 central themes were identified, each with 3 subthemes. First, a common barrier to system integration was the lack of formal evaluation, with SMEs having limited resources and opportunities to conduct such an evaluation. Second, the health system’s current structure does not create incentives for clinicians to use digital technologies, which threatens the sustainability of SMEs’ business models. SMEs faced significant challenges in engaging users and payers from the public system due to perverse economic incentives. Physicians are compensated by in-person visits, which actively works against the goals of many digital health solutions of keeping patients out of clinics and hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant disconnect between the economic incentives that drive clinical behaviors and the use of digital technologies that would benefit patients’ well-being. To encourage the use of digital health technologies, publicly funded health systems need to dedicate funding for the evaluation of digital solutions and streamlined pathways for clinical integration.